Red face (not from winter wind) on ole joyful

18 years ago

Some of you may have noticed my satisfaction frequently expressed with regard to my little Dodge Colt, 1.5 litre engine and standard transmission being so frugal on gas.

Hardly remember what a gas station looks like, I've been saying.

Bought 1990 Dodge Colt 200 hatchback summer 1997 with 138,000 km. (87,000 mi.) on the odometer, have had it about 8-1/2 years, it recently turned up 333,333 (about 208,000 mi.) on the odometer - I was hoping to get to 338,000.

Mechanic says that left front suspension is in bad shape, that I shouldn't drive it.

So I'm about to drive it to scrap metal dealer, auto wrecker.

Or possibly to a local Christian agency that rehabilitates addicts that gives charitable receipt for donated vehicles.

I've been looking for a small vehicle with standard transmission, hatchback (to carry the stuff that my son takes to his displays).

A few years old, with low mileage: you know - the kind driven by a little old lady only on Sunday afternoons.

In its place, I'm buying (from an old friend in the auto body business, who sold me the Colt) a 1993 Dodge Taurus station wagon with 3.8 litre V-6 engine, automatic transmission, 183,000 km. (about 115,000 mi.).

Plus it has cruise control. Plus air conditioning, and I've been used to that service via open windows.

I guess that I'll have to get used to staying home more, especially since I live in the country, the engine displacement being over double that of the Colt.

Almost 50 years ago I had a VW Bug - we used to say that, while owners of regular cars had to stop and think before embarking on a substantial trip, considering whether, the cost of gas being what it was, they should decide not to go, the owners of a Bug just climbed in and took off, for they used so little gas.

So the difference in gas consumption was not as major as it might have appeared on the surface.

Hope you all have a lovely New Year.

ole joyful

Comments (6)

ivamae
18 years ago
I bet you are going to see a huge difference. Good luck. Do you recoomend a Dodge Colt, automatic, to little old ladies who mainly just drive around town?
hotzcatz
18 years ago
Aloha Ol Joyful,

I doubt the Taurus will be remembered as fondly as your little Colt was. That is just my opinion, though, but the folks I've known with Taurus station wagons haven't been overly fond of them after awhile.

For little ol' ladies, they might appreciate a Honda Accord or Civic. Any of the Japanese four cylinder small cars are pretty good on gas. Wasn't the Dodge Colt made by Mitsubishi? I had a Civic which got really good gas mileage and was extrememly reliable. It was an eighty something and had high mileage. We sold it to the neighbor and he's been driving it for about three years now with no problems. We wanted a 4WD though, to go skiing and fishing with and it didn't make sense to keep the little Civic once we got the small truck since we'd have to continue to insure and register it and it wouldn't save enough on gas since we don't drive that much.

Well, as my friend Mike the Mechanic once told me: "Get what you like, you can fix everything else."
Related Discussions
Best Pines for Chicago winter winds & road salt
Q
Comments (4)
I would avoid Austrian pines at all cost at this point. They seem to have some type of disease or infestation here in SE Michigan now, and all of them are dying off everywhere I look. I have seen some jack pines along roads here that are the progeny of ones planted back in the 1930's as part of CCC/WPA projects, and they seem to handle the winter conditions from what I can see without too much problem. They can be a reasonably attractive tree if well grown -- the ones here are a lot nicer and less scrubby than the Northern Michigan ones. But, I doubt this tree is even available in the trade other than as tiny seedlings from specialty nurseries, since it's sort of considered a junk tree.
...See More
Another order from South Wind
Q
Comments (12)
I got mine today!!!!! Holy toledo, she is one fine, hard working woman! She dug my plants on labor day & emails me as late as 10:30 at night to give me updates & to merely speak about hybridizers! I wanted real purple dls & she went out of her way to tell me which ones were too red & recommended a few. Kind enough to tell me which ones didn't grow well here where she could have just sold them to me. She spoke about you Pat! She said she has been very busy since you posted here on GW. This is what I got: Destined To See Mildred Mitchell Purple Pinwheel Isle of Dreams Grape Velvet Dallas Star - only $2! Indian Giver Moonlight Orchid Raptor Rap Spiny Sea Urchin Bonus': Freudian Slip Purple Many Faces See, I do have some taste for the goodies that are oldies! Every one of them I searched this site for pics before buying. If it wouldn't have been for all your posts... Thanks Pat, couldn't be happier! I think it is only right to do her right by posting our positive experiences on Garden Watchdog. Here is a link that might be useful: South Winds at Garden Watchdog
...See More
ole joyful needs a prayer ... or two
Q
Comments (21)
joyfulguy: Go ahead and tell about Saurday night baths. Its part of our heritage that happened not so long ago, but might seem primitive by today standards. My sister and I with our 2 parents lived in a small 4 room house on a small farm in southern Illinois. Electricity did not reach these farms until 1947. During the 1940s, my sister and I bathed in a No.3 galvanized wash tub placed behind the kitchen stove to afford a screen. (Be careful not to back into the kitchen stove if it was fired up.) Water came from a pitcher pump at the kitchen sink. It drew water from a cistern. The cistern was replenished by rain water from the roof of the house. (We prayed for rain when the cistern ran low.) Water wss heated on the kitchen stove. The stove also contained a copper water tank that eventually heated 5 to 10 gallons of water. On hot summer nights, water may have been heated outside in another tub at the clothes washing site. We bathed on Saturday night so that we'd be fresh for church the next morning. That was the only scheduled bath of the week. In summer, just before supper, we might go the swimming hole in the river; It was only 1/4 mile from the house. That was a great way to rinse the sweat off and cool down. In 1947 after electric powewr came to the countryside (REA), the bathing routine did not change due to practicalities. After I entered high school in 1950, I got a shower every day at the end of the physical Ed class. That became my source of bathing (and athlete's foot). You probably should save the descriptions of outhouses for another time, but those were part of the landscape. Farm houses built in 1900 did not have plumbing. If you were out in a field, you went behind a bush. (My uncle cautioned me: "Do not squat with your spurs on!")
...See More
Ole joyful's walking on air today
Q
Comments (21)
Hi Iva Mae, I`ve been planning to dwell on that package, and some other matters, with a bit of embellishment, probably, but not stretching things too much, over on the jokey thread about the jockeys with the tired elastics (that got some folks a bit huffy) a week or so ago. Or ... should we suggest that those folks got their shirt-tails (undershorts) sort of tied into knots? (I`m in a newly opened library that has French (slash) English keyboards, some of the keys have double use, and I managed to get the (E with an accute accent) rather than the question mark, and the (e with an accute accent) rather than the forward slash ... and the computer tech here couldn`t find the key to shift the usage back, so she set one up for me for the question mark ... but not the slash! (The exclamation mark works ... but the apostrophe is on a dual key, as well). Life ... do ... have its problems, right� ? ole joyful
...See More
joyfulguy
Original Author
18 years ago
Hi again, guys,

Just before Christmas, I took son and his friend 600 mi. on a Saturday to attend 3 Santa Claus Parades, where they blew up ballons to make hats, animals, jewellery, etc. for kids. Travelled 600 km. mostly on freeway (about 375 mi.) at a cost for gas of Cdn$32.00.

Recently travelled just over 250 km. (about 155 mi.) in the Taurus, here and there, some stop and go - but at much lower speeds: gas cost Cdn$27.00.

Boo-hoo.

Just before Christmas I drove a friend in her Lincoln Town Car, mid-90's vintage, about 140 mi. on freeway to spend Christmas with her daughter, No. of litres (@ 3.85 per U.S. Gal) per 100 km. (62.5 mi.) was on average setting and we were getting about 12lt./100 km. while travelling about 100 km./hr. (62.45 m.p.h.).

Later, with litres/100 km. gauge on current setting and travelling at about 65 - 70 km./hr. (40 - 46 m.p.h.) on regular coutry highway roads, I was consuming about 7 - 8 litres per 100 km. - about 2/3 the rate at which I was using at the higher speed on the freeway - I was surprised.

I'm hoping that my Taurus will be so trouble-free that the mechanics at my garage will be so unused to seeing my face that when I come in, they may say, "What's your name, again"?

Have a happy week, everyone. Frugal, too. Healthy, as well.

ole joyful
cynic
18 years ago
I can surely sympathize there O.J. My old Mazda pickup gave me a faithful 25 mpg during most any weather or driving conditions. Poor thing had to go since it just wasn't worth fixing what needed to be fixed to drive it. The Dodge Caravan gets me a reliable 18-19 mpg. Most would say that's still pretty good (and I guess I do too) but I sure notice the difference at the pump. But so far it's been reliable and that's the biggest thing, although I have to do transmission work soon. Ouch! Purchased from an estate for $500. Runs like new. 150,000 miles so it's almost broken in. And it's easier to get in and out of for the stiff and sore old bones. Automatic and power steering are easier on the still-recuperating shoulders too. So I'd say it was a great deal. Plus I had it so I could make a realistic decision on the PU. Still hated to see it go. 15 years of reliable service, and under less than stellar maintenance doesn't go unappreciated around here.
joyfulguy
Original Author
18 years ago
Amen.

o j

P.S. My shortest post?

o j
joyfulguy
Original Author
17 years ago
The winter wind's no longer with us.

My face may not be so red now - but it is rather long.

This car seems to have a love affair with gas pumps.

o j

Red face (not from winter wind) on ole joyful

Comments (6)

ivamae

hotzcatz

Related Discussions

joyfulguy
Original Author

cynic

joyfulguy
Original Author

joyfulguy
Original Author

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Red face (not from winter wind) on ole joyful

Comments (6)

ivamae

hotzcatz

Related Discussions

joyfulguyOriginal Author

cynic

joyfulguyOriginal Author

joyfulguyOriginal Author

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

joyfulguy
Original Author

joyfulguy
Original Author

joyfulguy
Original Author